The father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’

Luke 15:22-24 ESV

At Ilene Cromwell's memorial, we thought about the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son:

"Do you hear joy?  You should hear joy.  Unwavering pleasure, a radiance that will not be dimmed just because someone else wants to be grumpy.  Self-satisfaction, a rock of delight that cannot be moved.  That’s the Father.  

Jesus wasn’t teaching this in a vacuum.  He was responding to people who thought that God wouldn’t possibly act this way – that He has standards for the people he’ll welcome.  

God does have standards, but He wants joy.  And He doesn’t change His standards to get that joy: the prodigal son has to “come to his senses,” and come all the way back… He has to “repent,” say he never should have left home in the first place, and ask to be taken back.  

And God doesn’t have to take us back.  We have no leverage in this. 'See, I repented so you have to forgive me' is not the attitude that will get you all the way back home.  

No, the Father wants to be joyful.  And the Father wants you, and your brother, to share His joy."